Jeremy Abbott wins national title

12 Jan 14

Jeremy Abbott wins, followed by Jason Brown and Max Aaron

The skating is over. Jeremy Abbott won the national title in his latest U.S. championships. Jason Brown took second and Max Aaron took third. Now, the decision falls on the committee to decide which two skaters will represent the U.S. in Sochi. Their decision will be announced at 7 p.m. ET.

Read on for how the entire event went down.

Abbott’s spot in Sochi is safe — but does he have a shot at a medal?

Christine Brennan: Jeremy Abbott wins his fourth national title — really! — and now needs to figure out how not to bomb in Sochi. He was ninth in Vancouver. Looks like young Jason Brown will go with him, but as we know from the Ashley-Mirai situation, the international committee will be meeting.

Jeremy Abbott has a skate to remember
Abbott made mistakes — doubling two jumps that were supposed to be a part of a triple-triple combo — but his overall skate was exactly what he needed to earn the championship. Coming into the program with the lead, Abbott nailed his quad toe loop and triple axel to start the event. As he ended, Abbott’s eyes filled with tears as he waved to the crowd. The 2010 Olympian said this is his last year competing. Abbott scored 174.71, enough to win the competition.

Richard Dornbush blows opportunity
Heading into today’s free skate, Dornbush was in second place and had a good shot at winning nationals. However, he struggled with jumps early, singling an axel and doubling a salchow that were slated to have a much higher level of difficulty. He was visibly upset with the skate when he finished. He earned 144.34, and is in fourth place with one skater left.

Jason Brown lights up crowd
Does he have a quad jump? No. But Jason Brown does have the ability to land every one of the triple jumps he can throw, and the skills to entertain a crowd while also working in fantastic skating. He brought the crowd in Boston to their feet with an Irish dance-themed skate. He was given a 182.61 and is in first place with two skaters left, ensuring a spot on the podium.

Christine Brennan: Jason Brown just skated lights out, without a quad. A North Shore Chicago 19-year-old whose mother used to be a producer for “The Arsenio Hall Show.” Sat next to him on the bus coming to the arena Saturday. He couldn’t be more delightful.

Kelly Whiteside: After that performance I expect that even Jason Brown’s ponytail will have more Twitter followers. (@JasonBPonytail) Standing ovation from the crowd before the program even ends.

Gary Mihoces: Jason Brown, a 19-year-old from Highland Park, Ill., had the crowd clapping along and roaring with a nice, clean program. He didn’t try a quad, but he pulled off everything else except for a slightly two-footed landing. Standing O and lots of stuff tossed on the ice. Brown puts the pressure on Ricky Dornbush and Jeremy Abbott to land their quads.

Gotta say, I shed no tears for the lack of a quad in that program. #boston2014

Bad start hurts Rippon
Performing after Aaron, Adam Rippon had a subdued and disappointing performance. He singled his first three jumps. Once he settled into his skate, he was able to land his big triples, but it wasn’t enough. His 144.61 landed him in fifth place with three skaters left.

Defending national champion makes case for Sochi berth
Max Aaron has the jumps and international experience, but he must put all of his components together to get one of the two spots for American men in Sochi. He had two quadruple jumps (and put his hand down for one of them) and nailed his triple jumps in the second half of his performance, when a bonus kicks in. He scored 173.49. He is in first place, but four skaters are left to go.

Gary Mihoces: Max Aaron, former hockey player, putting up a fight. His program was packed with difficult jumps. He landed two quads to open. But he put a hand down on the second quad.

Farris’ opens final group with expressive performance
Joshua Farris’ skate to “Schindler’s List” was expressive and well-matched to the music, but it was also filled with small errors. He fell on his quad and underrotated a triple jump. The skate earned him a 169.69, which easily put him in first place with five skaters left.

Miner gives moving tribute to “Boston Strong”
As you can read below, Miner skated to play tribute to his hometown of Boston. He may not make it to the Olympics with this skate, but he did give the fans in Boston a memorable skate. He made mistakes on two jumps, but he also skated with such emotion and beauty that the crowd rose to their feet before he was finished.

Gary Mihoces: Standing ovation and tons of stuffed tributes tossed onto the ice for Miner. He’s touching the hands of fans in the stands as he leaves the ice. Fans holding up banners saying, “‘Ross Strong.”

Nancy Armour: No matter where he finishes, that free skate is sure to be one of the highlights of Ross Miner’s career. A native of nearby Watertown, Mass., his “Boston Strong” free skate this season is a tribute to the city’s resilience following the bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. His costume appears to be simple, though upon closer look, the blue and gold stones around his neck are in the shape of the “Boston Strong” ribbon.

The arena was eerily silent throughout the program. But as Miner’s music ended, the entire arena rose to its feet and Miner appeared to be holding back tears.

Boston representing as only they know how

Kelly Whiteside: It was a moment for Boston. In his free skate, Ross Miner performed to Glory by Michael W. Smith to pay tribute to the victims and strength of the city. When Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured after hiding in a boat in Watertown, Mass., Miner was less than a mile away at home.

Four days earlier, when bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, killing three people and injuring more than 250, Miner was on the ice at the Skating Club of Boston.

Miner and coach Mark Mitchell were still searching music for their free skate program for the upcoming season.

“I was a little hesitant because I didn’t want to be someone who was taking advantage of a situation that wasn’t good,” Miner said. “Then I heard the music and I immediately knew I could connect to it and portray my own feelings.”

Which is exactly what a skater hopes to do, move an audience, to cheers and even tears.

Nancy Armour: It’s Boston, so of course we were going to hear “Sweet Caroline” on the arena P.A. The song is playing as local skater Ross Miner is warming up, and the audience chimed in for the “So good! So good” chorus.

Gary Mihoces: Playing “Sweet Caroline” is a baseball tradition at Fenway Park. They’re playing it at TD Garden during a break and fans are swaying and singing. Ross Miner of Boston about to skate to his theme of “Boston Strong,” a tribute to the spirit of Boston in the aftermath of the marathon bombings.

Mroz can’t put it together
Brandon Mroz integrated a quad-triple combination into a well-choreographed routine, but he also had a few wonky landings. The difficulty wasn’t enough. He scored a 138.12, and is in second place with eight skaters left.

So many quads shows how far skating has come

Gary Mihoces: In 2005, USA Today did a series about the 10 hardest things to do in sports. The quadruple jump in figure skating came in at No. 6. That’s four rotations in the air in a span of between about .5 and .7 seconds. Of the last six men skating today, five have quads in their programs. Jason Brown is the only one who doesn’t.

Razzano remains upright, best so far
Douglas Razzano came into the long program hoping to stay upright, and he delivered with a heartfelt program to “Turandot.” He scored 157.25, and is in first place with eight skaters left. He was emotional in the Kiss and Cry area after his routine, but who could blame him?

Nancy Armour: Many candidates, but just two Olympic spots

And you thought the decision on the women’s Olympic team was tough.

The U.S. can send only two men to the Sochi Games, and there are four who still have a shot at the spots going into Sunday afternoon’s free skate. Max Aaron is fourth, almost 13 points behind leader Jeremy Abbott and five behind Richard Dornbush. But when the points-packing quadruple jump is involved, no lead — or Olympic berth — is guaranteed.

In other words, anyone who says they know who’s making the Olympic team before the last group takes the ice is making their picks based on sequins, sparkles and music selection.

But since we’ve got time, here’s the skinny on the top four:

Abbott: As long as the three-time champion stands up, he’s on his way to Sochi. Yes, Abbott has consistency issues. But the 2010 Olympian also has a quad — he whipped off a quad-triple combo in the short like it was a bunny hop — and is one of the most artistic skaters around. His footwork sequence at the end of his short program was breathtaking, as if he was translating the notes of his music with his skates.

Dornbush: He’s clearly got the skills — you don’t set a nationals scoring record by accident. But Dornbush hasn’t put together two solid programs since finishing second at the 2011 U.S. championships, so he’ll need to prove he can handle the big stage.

Jason Brown: No matter what happens Sunday, keep an eye out for this kid. A medalist at the last two junior world championships, he’s so lyrical and expressive it’s easy to forget he’s skating, not performing on a stage. His quad isn’t consistent enough to put in his program — yet — but when it is, look out.

Aaron: The defending champ is the X factor. He’s got not one, but two quadruple jumps in his program. Nail them both, and he’ll rocket in the standings.

“Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Gabby Douglas took part in her first workout with coach Liang Chow, the renowned leader of Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute, for the first time since last August. Douglas, who twice won gold at the London Games, had moved to California to be closer to family. She went through drills Monday with Chow.”